Shooting Shaw Golf commercials ‘incredibly fun’

Throughout the season, Canadian golf stars Adam Hadwin, David Hearn and Graham DeLaet will check in with Globalnews.ca to provide readers with candid insights as they compete on the PGA Tour.

In February, Canadian PGA Tour stars Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, and Graham DeLaet shot a series of television spots for sponsor Shaw Golf. The commercials show the three battling over beards, driving balls into hockey nets and racing golf carts. The three golf stars spoke to Global News about the commercials.

Hearn: When you start playing golf you never think about shooting commercials. In my career I’ve done some smaller ads, but the concept that Shaw came up with was on a much bigger scale than anything I’ve done. It was an all-day shoot the week of the tournament in Arizona, and it was complicated by the fact the event in San Diego was delayed by a day and finished on a Monday.

Hadwin: I’m always interested in seeing the plans for these shots, then doing the filming and seeing how it comes together. I’ve done it with Callaway in the past. We didn’t have as much fun doing the Callaway commercials as we did with the Shaw commercial though. It is fascinating to see the process and how they edit it together. We certainly had a lot of fun with the competitions and though it took eight hours, we really had fun with it.

Hearn: To do it with Adam and Graham was a lot of fun and I think it was reflected in the ad. I play the straight guy, the one without a beard. I guess I’m the oldest of the group and the most veteran player, so I think that worked into the casting.

Hadwin: We were there for a full eight hours and it ends up as a clip that lasts a minute. But it was a very enjoyable day with a lot of cool things to do, incorporating hockey and Canada into the shooting. David and Graham both made the putts with the hockey sticks. All the celebrations were real, that was the best part of it. Everyone gets to see us how we actually are. It turned out really well and we had a lot of fun—a lot of joking, a lot of outtakes and trying to get things right. All three of us embraced it and enjoyed it. There was a great team there keeping us relaxed.

READ MORE: Graham DeLaet: Having a family changes your outlook

Hearn: It was really cold that day, though you don’t know that when you see the commercial. When we were driving around in carts between takes, we had jackets and toques on. Maybe that’s why it felt a little Canadian—we were trying to do our best between takes to keep warm.

DeLaet: I was just in Calgary and was catching up with the creative director from Shaw who put the idea together and led the shoot and we were chatting about how the day just flew by. I’ve done my fair share of commercial shoots, and sometimes you start to get tired as they go into [the] sixth to eighth hour of the day. It was one of the worst weather days in Phoenix, after a week of 72 and sunny everyday. The camera crew showed up in toques and winter jackets. But we were having such a great time, we kind of forgot about all that. The crew was amazing and tonnes of fun to work with. Being able to hang out and do it with my good buds David and Adam. And the things we were doing were actually fun. Hitting drives into hockey nets, chasing each other around on golf carts—that’s stuff you would talk about doing for fun just with your friends, and there we were doing it as part of a commercial shoot.

Hadwin: We really had fun trying the little games they’d set up to be part of the competition. In the commercial there’s a spot where I hit a drive into a hockey net. The result looks fake—but I actually did make it.

Hearn: Those are authentic reactions. They had a bunch of ideas for us to try, and Adam did hit it in the net on the second try, which is pretty incredible.

READ MORE: Adam Hadwin: Confidence is contagious

Hadwin: We set up on the tee box and we guessed at how far to put the hockey net. I hit it right over top of the net, but right on line. So we got them to move it back and the second shot flew right in. I couldn’t tell that it flew in or bounced in. But I really did make it. It was about 280 yards, and Graham was choking up to hit it that short. For me the celebration was real and legitimate and I hit it on the second swing. David and Graham both made their shots when they were putting with hockey sticks. And that was what was great—it was natural and I think it comes across realistically because we were enjoying what we were doing.

Hearn: It was really a good day and it was great to spend time with Adam and Graham in an atmosphere away from a tournament, which we don’t get to do very often.

READ MORE: David Hearn: Mastering the art of putting is a process

Hadwin: Everyone gets to see the three of us having fun with one another, as opposed to being so serious on the course. And I think that’s why it works.

DeLaet: Doing a shoot like this is fun, but it makes it a lot easier when you are doing it with two guys you know really well and can joke around with. A lot of the best parts caught on camera were because we know each other well. We are able to joke with each other and react in ways you wouldn’t when its not someone you know. You are comfortable and forget the cameras are there.